Island



(No Model) L. N. GARCIA.

, OVERSHOE.

Patented Mar. 22, 1892.

a mvewloz witmeooao UNTTED STATES PATENT QTFTCE.

LOUIS N. GARCIA, OF WOONSOOKET, RHODE ISLAND.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,476, dated March 22, 1892. Application filed July 10, 1891- Serlal No. 399,034. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS N. GARCIA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Noonsocket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Retaining Devices for Overshoes, of which the following is a specification.

Overshoes as now ordinarily made are liable to become detached from the shoe beneath and drop off or to ride up and down at the heel thereof, especially when a little loose or used on muddy or soggy roads, thus causing annoyance and serious inconvenience to the wearer. To overcome these objections it has been proposed to provide the inner face of the heel portion of such shoes with projections adapted to make frictional contact with the face of the counter of the undershoe, and thereby prevent independent movement thereon. Overshoes as thus constructed, while they avoid to a certain extent the objections incident to the usual form of shoes of this character, are liable to injure or deface the counter of the lower shoe, inasmuch as the interior projections tend to abrade the outer face of the counter and mar the appearance thereof, especially where the undershoe is made of fine leather having a smooth polished surface.

My invention therefore has for its object to overcome all the objections referred to by means of a neat and simple device which may be easily applied to such overshoes at a comparatively small cost, either in the course of their manufacture or subsequently, and which will at the same time serve to retain the rear of the overshoe in its open or spread condition, and thus facilitate the insertion of the foot.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel construction hereinafter fully set forth, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a part sectional elevation of an overshoe embodying my invention and shown applied to an ordinary shoe. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the overshoe detached, and Fig. 3 is a detail View.

An overshoe made in accordance with my invention consists, essentially, of a body portion A, of any suitable form, and a heel-piece B, secured therein and suitably thickenedas, for instance, by providing it at its upper edge with a bead or lip adapted to fit over and -tour of the rear open end of the overshoe and is composed of a body a, of suitable width and thickness to afford sufficient strength,- and an inwardly-projecting edge lip or bead b. In

the preferred form of the device the bead or lip is hollow, although it may be solid, if desired, and this bead extends nearly to the opposite ends of the body a, at which points it gradually merges into the latter. By making the bead hollow it is much more yielding or elastic than when solid and will accordingly accommodate itself readily to any inequalities in the edge of the shoe-counter on which it bears. liable to incommode the wearer as a solid and more rigid one might do, while at the same time it renders the adjustment of the .overshoe to its proper position on the foot easier and reduces the danger of scraping the face of the counter. The heel-piece, with its bead, aswill be best seen in Fig. 2, extends well around to and partly along the sides of the overshoe, so as to provide for an extended frictional engagement between the lip and the upper edge of the shoe-counter below. This construction also serves to stiffen the rear end of the'overshoe'and maintain it in a spread or open condition, thus avoiding the tendency of the sides of the shoe to come together, and'thereby permitting the insertion of the foot without the application of the hand.

It will be seen that in the use of my improved retaining'device the inwardly-projecting lip is located at the edge of the overshoe, and when the latter is in position on the foot such lip projects over and rests upon the upper edge of the shoe-counter and out of contact with the face of the latter, thereby affording an effective engagement'of the parts without the liability of injury to the face of the counter of the undershoe, as in the constructions heretofore devised.

To provide a firm connection between the heel-piece and the body of the overshoe, the

Moreover, the hollow lip is not so heel-piece may be cemented to the latter or and provided at its edge with a lip 12, substansecured therein byvuleanization or otherwise, tially as set; forth.

the usual lining being afterward applied over In testimony whereof I have signed my the body of theheel-pieee belowthe lip thereof. name to this specification in the presence of 5 \Vithont limitinglnyseif to the precise eontwo subscribing Witnesses.

21153113111011 and arrangement of parts shown, I LOUIS GARCIA An overshoe having a, heel-piece provided W'itnesse with a thin body a, adapted to be received JEFFERSON ALDRICH, 10 between the heel of the shoe and the lining JOHN \V. BENNETT. 

